North of Las Vegas (notes)...

Photo: Raymond Depardon

NORTH OF LAS VEGAS: Outline - Treatment



Opening scene narration:

[Lead character Barbara walking down the street.]

Could it be that you are just walking down the street and see all these different people going about their lives; what do they all do; some have families, some people are just starting-out in life perhaps after college or they didn’t go to school and working their first job. There are couples holding hands’ people in love. You question yourself – what am I doing? You realize life is just about staying busy; literally life is movement, action heat. When all is said and done it will be just another day for the billion of other people who kept on living their lives on the day that you die. You will be gone and the rest of the world will keep on living. This is what happened that day, its not about death its about life and living with your eyes open in awareness to why you are living your life and are you finding beauty and real love, the way you are living it?

Barbara:
[She was dressed down and was carrying a duffle bag on her way to see Barry her agent [pimp]. She stopped for a moment about to cross the street, looking into the distance.]

Barry: [He could have been a bookie back in the day, before computers when people would phone each other and things happened more fluidly but still things are mostly driven by grit, we talk more then ever in general it seems like society moves to fast and there is something missing.]

[Barbara had a meeting planned with Barry, there was a convention in town that weekend and they needed to hire more girls. They needed college girls cute and smart and with out scruples. Essentially the game they would be playing is sex and blackmail – they would get these well heeled “Johns” to empty out their checking accounts – The “Johns” had to either be married or be high-up in their companies; a vulnerable position that could be taken advantage of.]

[Barbara walks down the street she is in Santa Monica. She had made a lot of money that week – she makes a very substantial living; she is going to a gym and then she will be meeting with Barry. SOMETHING HAPPENS: The camera must depict some sort of psychological turmoil but represented as happening to a very emotionally strong and driven person. Barry flew in from Las Vegas, he works with Barbara but they are more like free-agents to each other they work well as a team and Barbara does 90% of her business with him.

Some thing is going to happen between them, I don’t know yet???? Oh yeah I just have to look at my inspiration for this – those lyrics…”Giggolo Crew”

Barbara: “I will start calling these girls maybe they’ll all work out this time?”

FLASHBACK SCENE: to this incident that Barbara is referring to. I don’t know what it could be, maybe (this girl) she fell in love with her “John” he was wealthy of course, perhaps he swept her off her feet and took her away from the drudgery of going to college and not even being a good student.

Barry: “I’ve already have most of these girls working. They are bringing in premium rates.” “Not close to your rates of course.” {John’s would pay at least $1500 for an evening, if they where working special-targets, depending on circumstances $2000-10,000 – they weren’t exceptionally greedy, they liked working quickly, they created a sense of urgency and the “Johns” were glad to get rid of the problem of blackmail.

Maybe this “meeting” scene could be rather quick, with Barbara getting-up to leave for a date. [Barry could be at his old—old uncle’s houseboat in Marina Del Rey] From the house boat it’s a short-walk to the Ritz Carlton hotel, she changed and dropped her duffle back at her motorcycle. Barbara flies to Vegas and pick-sup her car; she owns a vintage Ferrari. She interviews the girls so she knows whom to assign to which John. [LOTS OF GOOD STUFF HERE] They’ve researched the “John’s” as well [LOTS OF GOOD STUFF HERE TOO]

How do I want things to turn out? For a second I wanted the girls to all fall in love with their John’s a predicament that would change the paths of Barbara and Barry. This almost sounds like a comedy??? Turning to the camera this movie-story could suddenly turn into a documentary and it could start there (the rest of the story). The whole “Giggolo Crew” section can be glossed over at first and perhaps having some relevance later with the flashbacks and then perhaps the John’s can have a roll to play. I’m trying to write a treatment and two-lines of dialogue so far, I realized that this is a good exercise for putting together outline for a short story. Barbara should be as non-typical as possible, maybe her attire would be pure vintage MOD with a few haute couture pieces because she makes a lot of money, and her motorcycle in LA could be somewhat vintage. The places she hangs-out the back-back story could be more of the focus instead of just some typical scenarios. Again turning to those lyrics, she keeps “edgy” by reading murder novels and trying to always be hip. So hanging out by the state-line – what does that mean??? Perhaps Barry is into the desert and owns a trailer that he takes in the dessert as a base camp to ride off-road motorcycles, he also collects muscle cars. He and Barbara manage the money from this trailer, its equipped with a satellite dish and they are mobile so they communicate do wire-transfers into overseas bank accounts primarily Panama. Direct flights between LA and Panama City – Maybe that something that happens??? Forces them to go overseas, to Panama and they find themselves in an expatriate community mostly English speaking Europeans. A-ha I can have all this transpire in 8-days, like the novel The Reprieve by Sartre, and the device I will use with Barbara is having her reading a novel, something so juicy that kind your constantly trying o find the time to read, on the plane, in between interviews with the girls, waiting for John’s. {Just inspired by Raven’s writings on Denial} Maybe Barbara finds “hip” enlightenment by trying to save others from being square and waking them up so that they live there lives with purpose; finding individual happiness. Barbara…the back-back story… She doesn’t work constantly, she doesn’t pursue “marks” and blackmail on a daily basis. Barry works more, he found those girls for their next round of heists, and manages all the details, he has theses college girls working as much as possible after school. Barbara leads a double-life really and spends 1/2 her time typically one or two weeks at a time in Santa Fe, where she has a cozy bungalow, she can walk to the plaza and hangs out at coffee shops reading…


July 9th, 2007 Santa Fe, NM